


Determination Tango

by padawanhilary



Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Dancing, F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-04 17:16:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17902247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/padawanhilary/pseuds/padawanhilary
Summary: Walking home after a night of too much fun at the Hanged Man, F!Hawke drunkenly convinces Fenris to dance with her in the rain. Finally, its his time to shine, after all... he’s been practicing. Edit: Bonus points for it ending in a first kiss.





	Determination Tango

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lanalin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lanalin/gifts).



> Prompted by Lanalin after I asked for fluffy bunnies. 
> 
> Beta read by [Eravalefantasy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eravalefantasy/pseuds/Eravalefantasy) and [JanetteK](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JanetteK/pseuds/JanetteK). Many thanks. Errors remain my own.

“Come to the estate,” Marian coaxed Fenris, almost keeping from slurring just a bit. “Don’t go home. This is too much fun, and I still have that bottle of Pavali you gave me. We -” she faltered as distant thunder heralded a summer storm, then went on - “we’ll smash it in the fireplace together.” 

He chuckled softly, watching her, and then dared to slip an arm around her waist. He hoped, of course, that she would read it as a companionable gesture - or that she would like it if it weren't one. It was a bit of an excuse to touch her, but she _was_ stumbling a little. “How would we do that together?” He steered them toward the broad, cracking staircase that led up into Hightown.

“Both of us hold on to it together,” she offered with the slightest hint of a question in her voice. She frowned a bit; it appeared that she was trying to picture it. “And then we throw it together.” She seemed to consider a moment longer, then nodded decisively.

“That’s a lot of togetherness,” Fenris pointed out, voice pitched low. It got a reaction he liked a great deal: she looked at him with eyes dark and wide, and he no longer wondered what they were dancing around. He knew. There was no more “if.” It was only a question of “when.” 

“Too much?” Marian asked, looking away again to pay attention to where they were going. Lost in a back corner of Hightown would not be a good way to end the evening. 

“Not for me.” 

She beamed up at him: coaxing accomplished. “Then come to the estate. We’ll drink the wine, throw the bottle, and then -”

Thunder somersaulted through the clouds again, the storm growing closer, and as the first droplets of rain fell, she burst into laughter. “Of course it would start to rain _now._ ”

And then, what? Had the thunder not interrupted Marian, he truly wanted to hear what might come next, though he supposed he should not assume anything. They’d both had more than enough to drink, and the prospect of more wine ruled out any kind of… togetherness. Still, it was a good dream, one he’d indulged in often. He imagined himself in possession of the courage to speak openly, but he had not found it yet.

The rain fell in earnest. She leaned closer to him, laughing a little, and he ducked into an alcove with her, pressing her against the wall so that he could shield her from the rain. It was dark and cozy in spite of the cooling wind, and he relished this near-touching closeness. Fenris braced a hand against the wall behind her, watching her eyes. 

“Tell me what you’re thinking.” Marian tipped her head back against the wall, meeting his stare. A trickle of rainwater slipped from his hair down his temple, and she cupped his cheek to wipe it away with her thumb. 

He couldn't help but close his eyes and lean into the touch, innocent as it was. “I was thinking… that we’re dancing around this…” He couldn't finish the thought.

“This…?” she prompted. She dropped her eyes to his throat and then his chest before resting her hand there. He was afraid that she could feel his heart pounding, and then wondered why he would be. Reflexive fear, nothing more. She was here with him now, in the dark and cooling rain, and that spoke volumes. 

“We both know what it is.” It was as close as he’d ever dared to a confession, and suddenly he realized what he was saying. In this little niche in a Hightown wall, with the rain pattering on the stones around them and the smell of wet, green earth rising from the ground, he was drawing them both toward… _Togetherness._ And then he nearly ruined it all by adding, “Though I have no idea why you’d -”

Lightning slashed across the sky, and the thunder followed close behind it, crashing around them, shaking the air.

“Dance with me,” Marian said. 

He blinked. “What?” 

“You said we’re dancing around _this_ ; I think dancing sounds nice. As for why? Did you ever stop to think I might feel the same? That I might see the long glances? Did you ever even consider talking with me instead of - ”

“That damned dwarf,” Fenris sighed. “I’m never playing cards with him again.”

“Dance with me, and I’ll show you why,” Marian insisted, inching closer, crowding into his space. She tilted her head, watching his reaction closely.

He knew that look. It was shrewd, almost a nod to herself that things were about to go off without a hitch. One corner of her mouth curled up in a little smirk. It was the look of Marian Hawke about to get her way, and as a predictor of that, it was never wrong. He knew it, and yet he tried anyway. 

“I don’t… dance with people.”

Marian batted that away as easily as one would a gnat: “I’m not ‘people,’ Fenris.” When she saw his wince at her wording - it bothered him that he’d managed to make her sound ordinary - she knew she had him. They both knew it. 

He looked away, uncomfortable. “It’s pouring.” It was his last bastion, a useless one. Fenris knew when he’d been defeated. 

“It’s not that bad. It’s romantic.” She pushed him away, out of their private little shelter, though she followed close. He was keenly aware that people might be watching - Hightown _did_ have windows. He glanced around them, but could see nothing that would make him call for a full stop, and besides, that look in her eye told Fenris he was done arguing. 

Dancing in the rain it was. 

Tucking one leg between hers, he took her left hand and placed it on his shoulder, and then held her right hand in his own. He hoped it would go half as well here as when he did it alone, though he’d spent enough time dreaming of dancing with her. The reality of it made his breath catch. He closed his eyes a moment, conjuring the music in his mind: a dark, swirling rhythm and deeply strummed notes, and then, when he had it, he opened his eyes and began to lead her. 

Something changed inside him as they began to move. It wasn't only that this was the closest they’d ever been to one another - that in itself was thrilling - but suddenly he felt _graceful_. He was a good fighter, his lyrium affording him agility that many warriors did not possess. But with Marian in his arms, he felt elegant, almost ethereal. They moved together with feline precision; he led her effortlessly, but that was not to say that she was passive. He backed her up, spun her, tugged her close again, then pulled her along, his hand always guiding from the small of her back.

There was a story in this dance, one Fenris had written for her: his feelings for her pulled him in two directions. He raced to her, pacing forward quickly and then sweeping her with him, but his fear of her rejection had him turning away, a hand still out to her. Back and forth, a dizzying whirlwind of emotion, and then his memories and insecurities crowded in as he made a small leap away from her, keeping her at arm’s length. 

His eyes grew wide as she slid back into him, catlike, without being pulled. She wrapped an arm firmly around his neck, tightening her grip on his hand. She pressed her hips to his possessively and swung a calf around his: Marian was still learning this dance as he led, but he could see it: she would not let him push her away again.

Suddenly the music in his mind was gone, replaced by their own rhythm and the heavy staccato of the rain. Marian was _with_ him, completely in synch with his movement, his breathing, and he knew now - his heart. He could feel it in her body, he could see it in her eyes. They were already one, and yet he couldn’t move. What was taking him so long? 

Another bolt of lightning, another crash of thunder. The storm had enclosed them completely. She paced around, filling the hesitation with her own movement, one hand gliding around his shoulders as she circled him.

When he got ahold of her again, he remembered himself and why he needed her to be his, and then it was simple for him to find his feet. He tugged her close, hips pressed together, and she responded by bringing her leg up over his hip. She licked her lips and tugged at the bottom one with her teeth.

His fear would return; of course it would, but only to visit, and only for a moment. He knew now what they were to each other, he would not let his damnable past stand between him and this dance. He spun them until they were dizzy, with her elated laughter rising into the rain. The thunder finally receded and he dipped her low, his gaze never leaving hers. 

After what seemed an eternity, he straightened, pulling her up with him. 

They panted lightly, staring at one another, until she couldn't stand it anymore. She threw both arms around his neck and kissed him, tasting cheap house red and rainwater. It felt as though this moment was all she’d ever wanted, Fenris holding her close, mouth moving with hers, the clouds muttering as they finally wandered away from the show. 

Fenris sank into the kiss, every bit of his awareness clinging to her: they were soaked to the skin, growing colder by the minute. Her mouth, however, was warm and inviting, and she trembled in his arms. He eased his way out, drawing back slowly, brushing his lips over hers, then deepening the kiss again. Like the dance, only closer. It took everything in him to back away enough to look at her. 

“And this is why I love you,” she breathed, stroking her fingertips over his cheek. “We dance well together. We always have.” 

He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against hers. She asked him again to come to the estate, and so he went. 

They did not drink the Pavali.

\- end -


End file.
